Is there a way to completely disable the liquid glass functionality on iOS 26? I'm not going to get into a lengthy diatribe over why it's awful, I just want it gone.
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 18
amdc101 wrote:
There is a serious issue around accessibility with the Liquid Glass display, it’s not just an aesthetic issue. I do personally think it’s an unnecessary overlay, and don’t like it, but part of that is that I work for a charity for blind people and in terms of apples usual excellence with accessibility this is a huge fail.
iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly charges the appearance of Liquid Glass:
Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted
Sadly, for iPad, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass - an issue that is often not understood by those that have perfect eyesight.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are other settings that can significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:
Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.
I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.
NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.
Liquid Glass is here to stay - and will likely evolve throughout the lifespan of iOS/iPadOS 26. Hopefully, Apple will provide additional controls over time with which to selectively eliminate aspects of the new UI to better meet the functional and visual needs of the wider user population. Liquid Glass is very "pretty" - but for some is arguably form over function, reducing legibility and usability for some users.
You - and anyone else that has an issue with the Liquid Glass implementation - should submit constructive comments via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPhone:
Every Report counts.
suppose you can let them know how you feed using their feedback channels
or try to reach out to their support channels
And
or
And
or
Contact - How to Contact Us - Apple
Or
Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple
potado_wizard193 wrote:
I do wish there was a way to fully turn it off.
It’s pretty and all, but it runs down your battery very fast and makes it slow.
Liquid Glass is NOT running your battery down, nor making your phone slow. When you install a major update, it can take a few days for the phone to index the millions upon millions of bytes of data. You need to give it some time for the background processing to conclude. Apple recently posted this about updates --> About Apple software updates - Apple Support
In addition after EVERY iOS update (large or small) it is recommended to Force Restart your iPhone. I do this after EVERY iOS update and never have any issues --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
Leilabano wrote:
My screen flickers on the top when changing to another screen after updating to iOS 26. This hurts my eyes, so since updating I don’t want to spend time on my iPhone as i find it very uncomfortable to work with, i get headaches.
Open Settings > Accessibility > Motion - make sure Reduce Motion is turned off and see if that helps.
That only makes the background overlay darker. It does not get rid of the liquid glass effect. That also turns the phone into basically dark mode for your lock screen, and there is no way to make the notification color fill lighter. Horrible choice from apple in my opinion...
Try this to bring the Liquid Glass look back closer to what it was before the iOS26 upgrade –
Hold your finger on the screen until the apps get the “wiggles”
Top left, click Edit,
Choose Customise,
At the bottom, choose Default (far left option) as your App Style.
The apps will now be solid without the annoying refraction around them.
There is still some transparency, but not as much.
rhodri80 wrote:
It’s not about like or dislike, it’s about accessibility and providing an experience everyone can use. Even with Liquid Glass reduced I can barely read the text with the effects applied, e.g. the “use passcode” on the lock screen
I'm not sure what value there is in telling only other users what your issues with Liquid Glass are. No one on this user to user only forum works for Apple nor has any way to change anything. And Apple doesn't read here for feedback.
Tell Apple what your thoughts are --> Product Feedback - Apple
Lemmony wrote:
I am having trouble with this new update too. I suffer from migraines and vestibular imbalance. This animation of the apps bouncing about and effects on anything I open is making me queasy. Will have to return to old iOS if they can’t switch it off for people like me.
Read this user tip, which explains how to turn off the animations --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
mcringor wrote:
Please remove liquid glass. Its too bubbly, to much round corners. The straight forward browser navigation and access is gone. Its horrible and looks like theme ios of windows 7 10 years ago.
No. No one here on this user to user only forum works for Apple. We can't remove anything. And you should't be expecting Apple to remove Liquid Glass either Read the thread. Or at least read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
Bot69 wrote:
I just got the update. I’m very displeased. If anyone from Apple reads this: Liquid Glass is my final frustration. My next new phone is in 9 or 10 months. It won’t be an iPhone unless i can turn off Liquid Glass. I bought this device. And you changed it in an awful way.
Had you read much of this 22-page thread, you would know that no one from Apple is reading here. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:
I would note that, while the hardware is yours, the system software is not. The licensing terms you agreed to essentially say that Apple can change it whenever they want.
BaileyAndrusiw wrote:
The new iOS 26.1 update is absolutely infuriating. I have a hard time adjusting to change and not being able to switch the display back to how it looked before the update is completely inconsiderate. Please create a way to change it back to the original display for me and everyone I’ve talk to today who also despises this update.
in particular the apps opening and closing, I have turned off the motion and yet it does not change it back, it makes me motion sick.
No one here has the ability to do anything. No one here works for Apple or had anything to do with iOS 26. This is a user to user only forum.
Go through this ALL the way and chances are you can make some setting changes, which you can be happier with --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
Dysfunctionalfarm wrote:
I don’t know but it makes me feel sick like if it doesn’t go away I’ll be switching to android if this is their new thing it makes me so nauseous
Android has adopted many of the motion options which iOS 26 now includes, so look hard before you leap. And this is a user to user only forum, so as users, it doesn't really matter to anyone here what phone you buy.
If, however, you'd like to make adjustments which may help you, I wrote this for people to see what options are available --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
Adambagley wrote:
I echo the sentiment here, it is a very un appealing and any efficient design it has created plenty of issues for me personally.
Apple’s iOS 26 “Liquid Glass” redesign is a bad decision not because it looks different, but because it cuts directly against what Apple does best.
Apple’s core promise has always been effortless clarity. You pick up an iPhone and everything is immediately readable, calm, and obvious. Liquid Glass—by design—adds translucency, refraction, motion, and visual noise to core interface elements. That’s spectacle layered on top of information, and it makes the OS harder to read, not easier.
This is especially dangerous for accessibility. Translucent UI over dynamic backgrounds is notoriously bad for contrast, low-vision users, and people sensitive to motion. The fact that Apple has already had to tone it down and add controls to reduce the effect proves this isn’t a polish issue—it’s a fundamental design conflict.
It also introduces unnecessary performance and perception risk. Effects-heavy interfaces make users worry about battery life and older devices, even if Apple optimizes them. Apple upgrades work because users trust that updates improve stability, not just visuals. This redesign weakens that trust.
Then there’s the ecosystem cost. When Apple changes its visual language this dramatically, developers feel pressure to redesign their apps just to keep up—absorbing time and expense with no guarantee users actually want the look.
Most importantly, Liquid Glass sends the wrong signal. Apple wins by being practical, restrained, and human-centered. A flashy, polarizing UI suggests Apple is prioritizing visual novelty over usability at exactly the moment users want reliability and substance.
Apple shouldn’t need an OS you have to “dial back.” If users want to turn it off, it shouldn’t be the future of iOS.
You're sharing this with only other users. Perhaps cathartic to do so, but you're not sharing anything with Apple on this user to user only forum. Users, by the way, none of whom had anything to do with iOS 26 or Liquid Glass.
I wrote this, which explains why you will likely never get a turn off option with Liquid Glass. So yes, you need to make adjustments which better meet your needs, but get rid of Liquid Glass completely is pretty much guaranteed to never happen --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
Tell Apple what you think --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple
kellytinck wrote:
My eyes literally cant take it,since the update and new phone i noticed the strain straight away, i wear glasses now and this is the first time since i was a teenager in considering buying a different phone actually feel like it’s wrecking my eyes
This is a long discussion thread, of which you may have tired reading to find effective advice. Sadly, some users with certain [potentially undiagnosed] eyesight or neurological conditions have difficulties with the new Liquid Glass user interface.
iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly changes the appearance of Liquid Glass:
Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted
Sadly, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass - issues that are often not understood by those that have "normal" or optically corrected eyesight.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are settings that can significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:
Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.
I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.
NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.
The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.
Liquid Glass is here to stay - and will likely evolve throughout the lifespan of iOS/iPadOS 26. Hopefully, Apple will provide additional controls over time with which to selectively eliminate aspects of the new UI to better meet the functional and visual needs of the wider user population. Liquid Glass is very "pretty" - but for some is arguably form over function, reducing legibility and usability for some users.
You - and anyone else that has an issue with the Liquid Glass implementation - should submit constructive comments via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPhone:
“NO”, I really hate that future it’s so annoying but unfortunately there’s no options to disable it.
Unbest72 wrote:
“NO”, I really hate that future it’s so annoying but unfortunately there’s no options to disable it.
Disabling the future would be unwise.
How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?
